


Undercover

by guineamania



Series: Big Bangs [2]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Background Relationships, Breaking and Entering, F/M, Heroines, Law, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 02:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4122724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guineamania/pseuds/guineamania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Les Amis are under threat and they have to turn to people outside the group to save their lives. Cosette and Eponine had never had much to do with the revolutionary group and were not expecting to be their last hope!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undercover

**Author's Note:**

> This has been written for Heroine Big Bang and there is fabulous art to match from fleurting!  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/4123038

“Enjolras and Courfeyrac have been taken,” Grantaire stated to the two women who sat in front of him. Cosette and Eponine both watched him with a strange confusion. Neither of them were technically members of Les Amis de l’ABC they had never had reason to want to be. The majority of their dealings were bordering on illegal.

“Why on earth have you come to us to help out?” Eponine exclaimed as a waitress brought their drinks.

“The rest of the group have had to lie low to prevent any more of us being taken off the streets by the National Guard. I am not seen as a follower of their beliefs so I can walk but not get involved. You two were the only people we could think of that would be able to help,” Grantaire explained quietly, twitching at every movement that passed by them. “We need you to find out what charges they are holding them both on and where they are being held. Please help us,” Grantaire asked, his voice dropping to a whisper as the door of the Café Musain was pushed open. He pulled his beanie down further over his face and paled rapidly. A man in a suit was talking to the barista and Cosette could see a flash of a silver badge. This could not be a coincidence.  They had to be here looking for Les Amis and Grantaire clearly knew it.

“I’ll certainly help you,” Cosette whispered as the man glanced around the café, left his card with the barista and left. The relief was evident on Grantaire’s face.

“So will I,” Eponine nodded and Grantaire smiled.

“Thank you so much. We know that the crown’s evidence is mostly circumstantial but we need to know exactly what they have,” Grantaire explained and passed a slip of paper to each.

“You need to stay aware and alert. On there is the address where you can find me,” he added as he stood up. “Thanks again,” Grantaire smiled, shaking their hands and walking over to the barista, sliding him a tenner across the counter. Les Amis were organised and prepared, Cosette didn’t know what to think of that.

 

“So what now?” Eponine asked as they stood outside the café. Cosette honestly didn’t know. When one of her boyfriend’s friends asked to meet her when she hadn’t heard from Marius in weeks, this was most certainly not what she was expecting. To be part of a plot, how exciting. She found herself smiling at Eponine.

“I think first we need to get them a lawyer. I think we should split up, one of us go through the front door, get them a lawyer and find out everything the legal way. The other should try and stay undercover,” Cosette suggested, surprising herself with this decisiveness. It was decided pretty easily that Cosette would go hire a lawyer and Eponine would fire up her old contacts. They embraced quickly before hurrying off in their own directions. There was so much to get done in a short period of time.

 

“You want me to represent people who are being branded as Marxist radicals,” Cosette’s father’s criminal lawyer sighed as Cosette sat nervously in front of her. Her adopted father got in some trouble with the law and Miss Marie Bonnair had helped him get off scot-free. Cosette could think of no one better. However some news had been linked on the arrested rebes and it wasn’t favourable for the group.

“They are good people Marie,” Cosette muttered, her puppy eyes at full power and her check book in front of her on the desk. “They want to make the world a better place for people and they are being prosecuted,” she explained. Marie sighed, running her fingers through her long blonde hair.

“Please tell me I am not going to regret accepting this case,” Marie sighed. Cosette’s smiled brightened at her acceptance.

“You won’t, you certainly won’t.”

 

Marie agreed that she would confront the police and find out as much information about the charges as she could overnight. She never lost a case and this one would be no different. Cosette was delighted with herself as she skipped back to her apartment in Camden Town. “Nice place you have here Lark,” Eponine commented. She was leaning against the wall next to Cosette’s front door with a suspiciously charming grin.

“Thanks,” Cosette just nodded as she unlocked the door. It would be rude to leave her surprise friend out in the cold so soon Eponine was making herself at home in the roomy apartment.

“So how has your day been then?” Eponine questioned while Cosette put the kettle on. It didn’t look like Eponine was leaving anytime soon and Cosette was not going to be accused of being a bad host.

“I got the boys a lawyer and she is going to send me everything she can get from the police,” Cosette explained. “How about you?”

“Black coffee two sugars, and I found the people that sold out Les Amis,” Eponine explained, after her coffee order. “A criminal underground network has had it out for Les Amis since Enjolras got their leader, only known as Monsieur Thenardier, arrested a few years back. Their stand in leader has been trying to pin something onto the group since,” Eponine explained and Cosette nodded, her attention rapt. Marius had told her about these people before. He had said they were ruthless and my try to go after her to get to him and then in turn their leaders. Montparnasse she thought their new leader was called. Cosette needed to find all the information she could on him.

“Do you know what they managed to pin on them?” Cosette asked, placing the coffee in front of the girl who was probably her polar opposite. Eponine shook her head. Who’d have thought they would be working together like this. Cosette offered her spare room to Eponine and she accepted it warmly. It turned out that Eponine lived with Grantaire and he wasn’t staying in the apartment at the moment; it got lonely there. Some companionship was just what they both needed.

 

The next morning Cosette had an email from Marie. Her attempts had not been as successful as she had hoped. It seemed like the police were against giving anything to help the possibility that the duo may be released. They threw every obstacle they could in the way of her information gathering mission. However she had managed to get the arrest report out of them as they were pushing her out of the door. It seemed that Enjolras and Courfeyrac had been arrested for inciting a riot but where being charged with multiple counts of disturbing the peace and arms trafficking. “Did Grantaire ever tell you anything about arms trafficking?” Cosette asked as she read the report. Eponine was laid on the floor flipping through the police files she had managed to get on Patron Minette and Monsieur Thenardier.

“No, but he’s texted for a meeting at midday in the park. We can ask him then,” Eponine replied, jumping to her feet with the agility of a cat. “I’m gonna get some food, you want anything?” she asked already half way out the door.

“Yeah sure, get whatever you want,” Cosette nodded, taking Eponine’s position on the floor flicking through the files. There was nothing here they could pin on Montparnasse and his cronies, if only they could prove it was Montparnasse that sold out Enjolras and Courfeyrac. The court would never hold up a testimony from someone with a massive rap sheet like Montparnasse. But Cosette couldn’t think of a way to do it.

 

“I have news! Two things,” Eponine shouted as she slammed Cosette’s door. Cosette was beginning to get worried that the time it was taking for her partner to go down the road to the shops and buy food. They had to meet Grantaire in an hour. “One is that it is being proposed to bring Enjolras and Courfeyrac court date closer now they have a lawyer. The second is that the police have got a lead on the other Amis,” Eponine panted, dropping the food onto the table.

“But what, can they do that?” Cosette exclaimed, shoving all the research they had committed in to her satchel.

“Apparently they are saying that it was this new date all the way through the proceedings. Just that Marie got it wrong,” Eponine shouted, the anger pulsing throughout the room. She didn’t know these men that she was helping but she would not let them be imprisoned unjustly.

“And what do they know about the remainder of the group?” Cosette enquired once again as she sent out a text to Marie for them to meet as soon as possible.

“Apparently tomorrow they are supposed to be meeting someone and the police know about it,” Eponine explained.

“Grantaire needs to know about this,” Cosette just stated. She was practically out of the door in a hurry to meet Marie. “Go to the meeting without me and I will try and meet you there!”

 

Eponine was regretfully enjoying this whole charade. The life of a Thenardier child was never dull and hers was turning that way. She needed excitement in her life not the monotony of a nine to five job and saving up for her rent. It was unfortunate that her roommate’s friends had been arrested and he was on the run but it did not come a moment too soon for Eponine’s sanity. “Hey R,” Eponine smiled, as she settled down on a bench next to the smaller man.

“Thanks for coming,” he nodded and continued to play with something on his phone, head down and beanie covering it.

“We’ve got news. The police know that Les Amis are meeting someone tomorrow,” Eponine explained and watched Grantaire’s shoulders sink down even lower. He let out a dejected sighs as his phone was shoved harshly into his pocket.

“Can I borrow your phone, the team need to know about this,” Grantaire asked and Eponine give him her phone without a thought. Then the thoughts caught up.

“Wait, what’s wrong with your phone?” Eponine asked as it was ringing.

“Oh its bugged,” Grantaire shrugged as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

“Bugged!” Eponine screamed, clasping a hand across her mouth instantly. That had come out a lt louder than she had expected. “I have been texting you on a bugged phone,” she whispered, slapping Grantaire on the shoulder when the phone stopped ringing.

“Hey Ferre, yeah its me. Eponine’s phone. Umm yeah. She’s fine with it. The police suspect nothing. But they know about the meeting with Chardy tomorrow. I’ll call it off. See you back at the house,” Grantaire murmured. He drummed his hand on this thigh in the gaps of talking as Eponine continued to glower at him.

“Explain yourself young man!” Eponine shouted as soon as the phone was back in her hand.

“Well I knew my phone was bugged and thought it would be suspicious if all activity went. So I had conversations with you and my little sister but no contact with Les Amis,” Grantaire explained, cowering away from Eponine. It was clear that Grantaire had lived with her for a while. When Eponine was angry she tended to kick people. He didn’t want to be kicked.

 

By the time Cosette arrived, Grantaire was up to date on the developments and was twitching nervously. “I am going to have to ask you two to do something that is very, very illegal,” Grantaire began as they walked. They had stayed in one place too long. It was all about precautions now someone was clearly selling them out to the police. “I cannot force you to do it but if not then I will have to and it is much harder for me to go unnoticed,” Grantaire explained as they walked slowly down the high street.

“Just spit it out Nicolas, we want to help,” Eponine hissed and Cosette agreed, even though she would have probably put it a little bit more eloquently.

“I need someone to break into the police station tonight and see what evidence they have on us and how they know about our meeting with Chardy,” Grantaire winced, as if he was expecting to be assaulted. No attack came.

“Okay,” Eponine shrugged and Grantaire’s jaw dropped. “Oh come on R. You wouldn’t have asked us if you thought we wouldn’t do it. We want you to be safe and we are not incompetent,” Eponine stated with Cosette nodding sternly next to her. It was as if Grantaire had personally offended them but insinuating that they may not want to do something that could get them arrested. Grantaire sighed, he would never understand women.

 

Eponine laughed as they walked back to Cosette’s apartment. “They always treat us as something to be protected,” she shook her head.

“I know right. Well we can look after ourselves and this should show them that. When we save their asses they will have to acknowledge us,” Cosette agreed. This was their chance. They would show them all that Eponine Thenardier and Cosette Valjean should never be underestimated and could do as much as any man could.

 

That night they both stood in the shadows cast by the police station. Cosette was starting to doubt if this was really a good idea. Neither of them had ever done anything like this before but Eponine did seem to know a scary amount about breaking and entering. Cosette was not sure whether to be terrified of her new friend or delighted at her new skill set and its relevance. If Eponine knew what she was doing they were more likely to make it out of this without a criminal record. That was the ideal. Eponine had briefed Cosette before they set off. She had bribed a security guard at the station to leave the alarms off and cameras positioned a certain way for them and apparently locked doors were no problem for Eponine. Cosette’s brain protested rationally as the door swung open but there was no backing out now. Cosette would not be accused of being a coward.

 

They stepped inside and Cosette let out the breath she had been holding in when no alarms pierced the tense silence. She should never have doubted Eponine. They were in the depths of the police station and there was no lights or noise around. “We needs to get to the records,” Eponine hissed. The police station kept electronic and paper records of all cases. The record room would be their best chance of finding what they needed. Someone looking at paper copies could not be recorded where as computers could be traced. They made their way further into the bowels of the police station and nothing had got in their way so far. Cosette was beginning to enjoy herself actually, it was thrilling to be acting like a spy. “Here it is,” Eponine hissed, gesturing towards a door, just round the corner. Cosette knew then that this was two easy. A police officer stepped out of the exact room they wanted to go in and just stood in the middle of the corridor. Eponine mouthed a very foul word back at Cosette as the policeman pulled out his radio. “Hey boss, I have the file on that Enjolras kid that you wanted and it is all wiped off the computer records,” he said casually down the line. Enjolras, he was the leader of Les Amis. There was something far more suspicious going on here than the police trying to get Les Amis off the streets. They needed those files that were in his hands not anything in that room. That was where they would find proof. The police man shoved the radio back onto his belt. Now was their chance. As he turned his back to the girls, Eponine dived out of her hiding place and kicked the guard’s legs out from underneath him. He fell backwards with a silent cry of surprise before his head hit the floor. Cosette nearly screamed herself but he was still breathing. Thank god he was still breathing. Breaking and entering was one thing but she would not murder anyone. Not ever.

 

Eponine threw her the file that he had been talking about before prowling towards the records room door. There was no one inside, it seemed that the now comatose man on the floor was the only person to be moving about in the police station this late at night luckily for them. Eponine was already rummaging through all the files when Cosette, stepped inside carefully shutting the door. “We need pictures of everything that they have on all the members of Les Amis. Starting with this file, but we will return it to his hands when we leave,” Eponine stated. They began to work in a quick harmony only looking at titles of files before taking a picture. They would have time to read them before they were delivered to Marie and Grantaire. But now was all about speed, they needed to return the file to the unconscious guard’s hands and get out before he woke up. There were boxes or files on the dealings of Les Amis and Patron Minette so they had to be selective.

 

Cosette felt she could breathe again when they were out of the police station. It had been exciting but in the way that you would never want to do it again. They had all the information and the police were none the wiser. A job well done. “We’ll look over it tonight and pass it all on to Grantaire and Marie in the morning,” Eponine sighed as she flicked through the photos on her phone. There was a lot of legal jargon that Marie would be a lot more efficient sorting through than they would. However there was not much more time left to the trial and Marie needed to be prepared when the date did roll around. Maybe this would all end up in their favour after all.

“I’ve texted Marie to inform her of the mission’s success and Grantaire to arrange to meet up for lunch, I cannot believe we are still texting a bugged phone,” Cosette grumbled as they hailed a taxi.

“I mostly cannot believe he didn’t tell us, we could have texted him so really incriminating evidence,” Eponine added but both fell silent as they stepped into the taxi. It was in that moment that the details of what they had just done hit Cosette square in the face. She had just committed a felony. They could both be arrest and not on suspicious fabricated terms. Her father would be so disappointed if they were found out.

 

The next morning the whole team was assembled around Cosette’s dining room table with paper scattered everywhere and coffee mugs arranged in the gaps. They had been at it since the early hours of the morning when Marie had arrived and Grantaire had snuck in the backdoor. And Cosette was more than shocked at the corruption that was hidden behind procedure and legal terms. The men currently in government felt threatened by the support Les Amis was building and so paid Patron Minette to claim that Les Amis were dealing with fire arms now. But they had no proof, it was all so hidden and it was only with the claims from Grantaire that they were able to piece it together. It would never stand up in court. They needed concrete evidence and testimonies for this to possibly work. If they did then they wouldn’t just be saving the lives of Enjolras and Courfeyrac, they would be preventing anything like this happening to anyone else who stood up and made themselves heard.

 

Marie left at nine in the morning to try and find someone who could be made to testify and to work on the back up defence. If they couldn’t make the jury believe that they had been set up then all they had to do was plant the seeds of doubt. It was going to be a lot of work but the three women were in too deep now to walk away. The three remaining continued to look through the files until a tentative knock on the door. All three jumped into action all the files and papers were shoved into a box and thrown into the closet with Grantaire. Cosette took a deep breath and hurried up to the door, pulling it open like she normally did. Her heart was pounding and so many different scenarios flashed through her mind of what would happen if they were found out. “Miss Fauchelevent?” the woman on the doorstep questioned, looking down at her shoes and twitching nervously.

“Yes that’s me,” Cosette replied, her nerves still on edge and tingling but the absolute terror was fading.

“My name is Officer Jenny Chester, and I need to talk to you about your case,” she sighed. The terror returned.

 

“Oh, please come in,” Cosette replied, trying to keep the fear from her voice. The police were here and they knew her name and what she was involved with. This was worse than she imagined. The timid cop stepped into her apartment and looked around. Eponine was stood in the kitchen making two cups of coffee. Eponine seemed a lot more laid back than Cosette was. It seemed in situations like this being a Thenardier child really did pay off. Her smile was perfectly genuine despite the severity of the situation. “Eponine this is Officer Chester, she is have to talk to us about the Enjolras Courfeyrac case,” Cosette smiled introducing the two. Eponine didn’t even flinch before pulling out another mug.

“Tea or Coffee,” she asked like that was the most prevalent problem they were facing. Grantaire was still in her closet and Cosette hoped that he would have the sense to stay there.

“Um, coffee thanks,” Jenny replied with another timid smile that dropped off her face almost instantaneously. There was clearly something that had her on edge. Eponine made the drinks in a tense silence and the discussions commenced when they were nursing the cups. “I don’t know why I came to you but I don’t know who I can trust anymore,” Jenny blurted out once Eponine sat down. “I was in the station last night and I saw some people break in and knock out another policeman,” she began and Cosette tried her very best to remain calm and impartial. “But when I reported it, the report was deleted and the officer in question denied being there. I looked up the records and none had been signed out but one was missing. It was the arrest report for Julien Enjolras and Robin de Courfeyrac and it was incredibly suspicious,” Jenny explained and the whole scenario became clear in Cosette’s mind. She came to them because she was in doubt of the police force. If they could just convince her that the law was in the wrong then they would have an inside woman. Cosette’s eyes flickered over to Eponine and the smile twitching at the corner of her lips confirmed they were both on the same page. It was now time to risk everything.

 

“We know about the corruption surrounding Julien and Robin’s arrest, that is why our lawyer is putting pressure on the police to hand over the records. With your help we can find out what really happened and stop this happening to anyone else,” Eponine took over, her big brown eyes pleading with Jenny. They could see the conflict raging behind her eyes and if it wasn’t two men’s lives at stake then Cosette would never even think of asking someone to do this for them. But surprisingly it only took her a few seconds to come to a conclusion. Morality won over loyalty. She was in. They talked into the night and Jenny finally agreed to investigate inside the police station and interview the detectives in case of their case. It was all finally coming together, if she could get them the files they alreaedy had legally then they could walk in to the court room confident. There was only one more thing they could do with, a testimony of someone who gave the police the evidence. Eponine knew exactly which member of Patron Minette to get.

 

“For god’s sake just do it you little rat,” Eponine hissed as she dragged the squirming little boy into Cosette’s apartment. Was it terrifying that occurrences like this didn’t actually surprise Cosette anymore.

“Hell no Ep, I ain’t gonna betray Mont!” the boy screamed back while being thrown onto the couch.

“I am your sister Gavroche and if I tell you Montparnasse is a self-centred, bastard who is only going to get you arrested to expect you to stay away from him!” Eponine yelled back. Cosette just sighed, massaging her temples to try and will away the headache that was brewing behind her eyes. What she would give to be back alone in this apartment with some soft music playing and a nice cup of tea.

“But they pay well and Mont gives me stuff,” Gavroche whined. Eponine just swatted the back of his head.

“You are going to leave that group, stay with me and R and testify against Patron Minette. Have I made myself clear Gavroche Thenardier?” Eponine continued, looking the picture of a mother as she scolded the boy. Hearing more and more about the Thenardier family, Cosette was not surprised that Eponine had become a type of maternal figure to the younger boys that the Thenardier parents disregarded.

“Yes Eponine,” Gavroche murmured, his head drooping.

“Good kid, now tell us all that you know,” Eponine smiled, dragging a chair over and gesturing to Cosette.

 

Gavroche was a surprising font of knowledge. It seemed that even a crime syndicate sometime forgot to watch what they said in front of children. He overheard a conversation between Montparnasse and Babet discussing the location of their gun supplies to tip off the police that they belonged to Les Amis. Gavroche also had a surprising memory for details and places that he faithfully recited to Jenny when they took him into the station. Maria was confident that she now had enough evidence to push the prosecution and at least get a verdict based on doubt and maybe an investigation into the police force. All in a day’s work. Cosette chuckled to herself as she collapsed into bed.

 

“So basically we have proof of the police force being paid by a crime syndicate to get rid of any people that want to shut down the aforementioned crime syndicate,” Grantaire sighed, as Cosette attempted to explain what was going on. “And these people that are trying to shut down the crime syndicate are also enemies of the police force because they were too close to some other illegal dealings such as the selling of evidence such as cocaine to drug dealers?” Grantaire continued. He couldn’t believe it that his innocent request that they find out what evidence Enjolras and Courfeyrac were held for had developed into something that could begin a complete police reform.

“Yeah, yeah that’s about it. And we have a police officer on our side that is going to hand over the extra information on the corruption when Enjolras and Courfeyrac are off scot free,” Eponine added. The court date was later that day and Grantaire was moping that he couldn’t go. Eponine and Cosette would be there but no one from Les Amis could be spotted just incase they let something leak. They didn’t want this police force to have anything, not even names and faces. Some of the group had dodgy dealings in the past and it would not do them any good for things like that to come to light, especially not after this fiasco. Nobody would dare support them if they were taking part in illegal activities. Grantaire still wasn’t happy about it though. Cosette promised to text him throughout on a non-bugged phone.

 

Cosette and Eponine had sat through the whole trial. It went on for two days and now they were finally getting the verdict. Maria was confident. She had played the jury like a violin talking of the lies that had been formed around these two men trying to limit the freedom of speech of this passionate group just because the police disagreed. They had to vote not guilty. They just had to. That still didn’t stop Cosette’s leg shaking. So much work and time had gone into this; they could not fall at the last hurdle. Her phone was vibrating rapidly in her pocket as Grantaire texted nervously, clearly as tense as those in the room. “The jury has reached a decision,” the head member of the jury stood up and spoke. Cosette could hear her heart pounding in her head and the gap felt like it could go on for eternity. “Not guilty.” Everything stopped and they were stunned. Cosette had never actually believed that they would manage it. A grin spread across her face and she was wrapped in an embrace from Eponine. They had done it. They had done it.

 

The whole of Les Amis were waiting a block away from the court room for Enjolras and Courfeyrac’s release and they were buzzing with energy. Cosette and Eponine were warmly welcomed into the back room they had rented either for joyful reunions or strategically planning a break out. “Thank you two so much. We could never have done it without you and the information you have provided will be essential going forward,” Combeferre grinned, embracing them both in turn.

“We will never forget what you have done and want to invite you here as members,” Jehan continued beaming and hugging energetically.

“I would like that,” Cosette grinned, her head resting on Marius’ shoulder and Eponine nodded as well.

“You’re not getting rid of us that easily boys,” she added but was cut off by a door opening. Enjolras and Courfeyrac were in the doorway and the girls were forgotten in the long overdue reunion.

 

Cosette and Eponine shared a glance will the boys were chatting away amongst themselves. They had done this, they had saved two people’s lives. And damn it felt good.

 

 

 


End file.
